We often rush to judge a picture before we truly admire the details. We give it a quick glance and speed past. That thinking often times occurs when we meet someone as well. We try to make a rush decision on that person. Do we like them? Do they fit into my thinking? This happens with interviews and tryouts as well. We give someone a short amount of attention and then expect to know them in that moment. We also expect that person to be perfect in that short time-frame.
Being a coach I have had to make that Rush to Judge decision on kids to make a team. We are on a field / court for two hours and looking for kids to stand out and show us what they can do. There are multiple things wrong with this thinking. One, we have them do drills and expect them to do it completely as we had showed or told them to do. We will have kids who execute that, while others may do it a little different yet get the same results, however they will probably be judged lower because they did it different. Why is that the case? There are guys playing in college and the pros who do it different than what was told of them. Along the way a smart coach saw the talent and ability within and said I will coach you different but don’t change you. Two, as adults we have all had that job interview which results in sweaty palms and nerves. So why would we expect kids to not be nervous when having their interview. The samething is always said, I’ve said it, Don’t be nervous. Go out there and have fun. We cut kids who are really good and just had a bad day or keep a kid who had a career day and then comes back down. However, who do we blame, the kid or the interviewee. It’s never our fault.
We and that’s the collective we, need to open our minds up. See the details, slow down and admire what is in front of us. Understand nerves will play a part of everything we do. I still get butterflies for every game I coach. I get butterflies every time my kids are doing something, because I want the best for them. I will try to push and coach each player to their ability, not mine.
Slow your Rush to Judge mindset down. Take a closer look at what you’re doing or planning to do. Try to find a new detail in something you think you know. Admit you don’t know everything and can learn something new. Extend the interview / tryout, let the people show you their true self and ability when put in the situation more than once.
Above all, enjoy yourself, your day and the things around you.
TCB